Theory-Building with System Dynamics: Principles and Practices

System Dynamics is a discipline for the modeling, simulation and control of complex dynamic systems. In this contribution, the methodology of System Dynamics-based modeling is argued to be a powerful and rigorous approach to theory-building. The strength od the pertinent process of theory development lies in its high standards for model validation, and in a combination of abductive reasoning with induction and deduction. The argument of the paper is underpinned by an application of System Dynamics to the elaboration of a theory in the new field of Cultural Dynamics.